Clock ticking on Connecticut gun bill?

Newtown Police Chief Michael Kehoe (left) speaks with Neil Heslin(right), father of slain Sandy Hook student Jesse Lewis, at a Conference on Gun Violence at the Campus Center Ballroom at Western Connecticut State University in Danbury on 2/21/2013.Photo by Arnold Gold/New Haven Register

HARTFORD -- Pressure is building for legislators to get the strongest gun violence reduction bill passed quickly, rather than take the time for a broad bipartisan agreement.

State Sen. Majority Leader Martin Looney, D-New Haven, fears lawmakers will lose momentum if they don't tackle a comprehensive approach to gun control in their first pass at legislation.

"It would be good if it had broad-based support, but more importantly, it has to be the strongest bill," Looney said. "We can't allow the minority to veto a majority consensus."

Lawmakers in mid-January put together a bipartisan task force to look at gun control, mental health access and school security, with 50 legislators split between the parties, in the hope of voting on a bill by the end of February.

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With time lost to the blizzard, that deadline has been pushed to mid-March, with a report out already by the subcommittee on school safety, and mental health recommendations expected early this week. More will be coming later from the Sandy Hook Advisory Committee named by Gov. Dannel P. Malloy.

The slayings of 20 first-graders and six educators at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown Dec. 14 restarted a long-stalled debate on gun control on a national level, and pressure is on Connecticut to lead the way.

The state, like the nation, is split between those who want far-reaching immediate change -- a movement being led by Newtown residents and families of the victims -- and gun owners who favor the status quo and see the effort as burdensome to law-abiding owners since current gun laws are not adequately enforced.

Looney said the bill has to have something on an expanded assault weapons ban and a ban on large-capacity magazines as essential components, as well as additional controls on permits for all guns and ammunition.

He added a gun offender registry list is a must to track those more likely to commit more gun offenses.

State Senate Pro Tem Donald Williams, D-Brooklyn, has made clear his feelings.

"While I hope we have bipartisan support for such a bill, that outcome has never been mandatory or guaranteed.

"What is most important is that legislators take the action necessary to keep weapons of war out of the hands of those who would harm our children. Now is not the time for weakness or delay," Williams said.

State House Minority Leader Lawrence Cafero, R-Norwalk, said it was his understanding that whatever could not be agreed to in a bipartisan manner would be part of the regular legislative process and taken up over the next several months.

"It's not the be-all and end-all," he said of a bipartisan agreement.

"I believe we are still on track for a whole host of effective, meaningful proposals," Cafero said, covering such things as permits for long guns and expanded background checks, which would also cover private sales.

Cafero, however, referred to the initial discussions with state police before the task force came together. He said they advised lawmakers to concentrate on limiting those who can handle assault weapons as the most effective method, rather than "getting caught up in the cosmetic look" of which weapons to ban.

He said the Democrats are the majority and they have every right to bring up any bill they feel has enough support.

The state already has an assault weapons ban. The proposal by Looney and Malloy would expand it to any semiautomatic rifle that can accept a detachable magazine and has one other defined characteristic, rather than the two now required. Malloy's proposal also refers to semiautomatic pistols and semiautomatic shotguns with defined options.

The governor would require long guns purchased before an expanded ban to be registered with state police before Oct. 1; they could only be sold to a licensed firearm dealer or out of state, while a limit on high-capacity magazines to 10 bullets would require owners to sell them out of state or turn them over to law enforcement by Oct. 1.

Cafero said he feels they have followed the rules around the bipartisan committee "in good faith."

House Speaker Brendan Sharkey, D-Hamden, said there is a "genuine desire" in his caucus to do the full range of items put forth by Malloy now under discussion by the bipartisan committee, but he was always cognizant that not everything would float.

"The intent was to work together on what we agree on -- a model we could point to for Washington on how it could be doing things together," Sharkey said.

The speaker said there was "still a lot of process to work through. These conversations are still ongoing," which will result in "much more consensus than folks are worried about."

He did not see it as a sign of weakness to deal with additional items before adjournment in May.

Sharkey said he feels the bill will be bipartisan if there are at least some lawmakers from both parties in the House and the Senate onboard. He said it doesn't mean unanimity or a majority of each of the caucuses.

State Rep. Roland Lemar, D-New Haven, said after discussions with colleagues, there is a growing number who are frustrated with what they feel will be a limited scope of ideas coming from the bipartisan committtee.

Like Looney, Malloy and Williams, he said the ban on magazines with more than 10 bullets and the ban on assault weapons is necessary. He said new restrictions that will stop straw buyers and trafficking of stolen firearms that flood the inner cities also should be part of the March bill.

Lemar said lawmakers have never shown any urgency in dealing with the gun violence that involves handguns, and he fears advocates will lose heart if a solution is put off beyond March.

Like many gun-control advocates, Lemar and Malloy want better enforcement of the current gun laws, which are often pleaded out. He also wants stronger permitting and storage mandates.

State Rep. Gary Holder-Winfield also emphasized the need for legislation that will stem the tide of firearms reaching the inner city, while there is an equal need for mental health programs that deal with the stress of young people continually exposed to violence.

"The legislative body has its role. The governor's role is to lead, but that doesn't preclude us from doing anything," Holder-Winfield said.

He did not think lawmakers would lose momentum if not everything is done at once. Holder-Winfield said such a view shows a "complete loss of perspective."